A Coyote Among Shinigami
by Star Josherson
Summary: AU. Rather than becoming the Primera Espada, a certain lonesome hollow ends up instead in the Rukongai after being purified. Where does he go from there?
1. Rukongai

A Coyote Among Shinigami

A/N: Honestly, I never thought I would be publishing yet another story in the Bleach fandom, but this little plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. A 'what if' that I found too hard to ignore. Therefore, I wrote it. Think for a minute, what if Starrk was in the opposite side of the Winter War?

Without further due, enjoy!

Plot/Summary: AU. Rather than becoming the Primera Espada, a certain lonesome hollow ends up instead in the Rukongai after being purified. Where does he go from there?

* * *

Chap. 1: Rukongai

He never remembers his last life or the one after that. When he wakes up, he only has the vague memory of a vast desolate desert covered in the darkness of night and the unsettling feeling of being alone. He doesn't even know his name, but when he chooses one the only one that comes into mind is Starrk. Not Stark with one r, Starrk with a double r. When they ask him why, he just shrugs apathetically and doesn't say why, because he doesn't have one. It just came and that's that.

Rather than staying around he wanders the district never settling nor really staying. For survival he tries to do odd jobs here and there in exchange for food. For some reason, he always finds himself hungry and when he asks one day, _"Why?"_

"_Unlike us, boy, you have a higher energy," _they answer him.

When he decides to inquire further about the subject, the person just waves it off and says, _"Don't worry about it, gaki, just do your job."_

He does as ordered, but the curiosity stays. Higher energy, how come? Are there any others like him? He wonders one day, but later shrugs it off because it sounds too bothersome and like a lot of work that isn't worth his time. Besides, he has all the time in the world to investigate. With that thought in mind, he continues to live his simple and normal life, just like he likes.

However, living his simple and normal life doesn't last very long, because one day he finds himself living bait when tries to fend off a monster from an elderly woman he was helping carry groceries earlier that day. He doesn't think nor even blink when he leaps to face the hollow. There's only one thought that appears into his mind in that mere moment, _'Protect the pack.'_

After that, he doesn't have recollection of anything else. When he, indeed, does wake up, many of the people who he had seen merely in passing or done odd jobs are there. Their reactions towards him are quite mixed and different. Some smile, other nod in acknowledgement and the rest pat him in the shoulder. All of them are there and he even gets more confused when an elder man puts a bone colored necklace around his neck and says solemnly, _"Welcome to our tribe, Starrk-san."_

"_Sir?"_ He looks at the elder confused. He knows that some from the village call themselves Arapaho, but the old can't mean what he's saying, right?

"_What you did for one of our kin is something that it is expected from one of us to do, but, you, one that isn't one of us did so without thinking. Actions speak louder than words, Starrk-san,"_ explains the man in a wise tone. _"Truly the spirits guided us to you. Henceforth, from this day on no longer shall you be named Starrk, but Okomi. In my language, Okomi means coyote. Many say they're tricksters, others say they're the mediators between life and death, but they forget that the coyote, like its brother the wolf, is known for being a guide, loyal and a leader."_

Much to his chagrin, they never call him Starrk ever again. Thus, he becomes Okomi Starrk to many in the village, because they assume that Okomi is his last name. He never does anything to correct them either with the excuse that it would be a lot of work to do so and for a moment he swears he hears a childish little voice chiding him, _'Liar.'_

He has the urge to answer back, but decides not to and in the end, he doesn't. Some time passes, how much exactly? He doesn't know, but he's pretty content with the life he has. Doing the same old odd jobs here and there, wandering around the village and helping the very people who made him part of their tribe, part of the _pack_.

But something happens again and this time is worse, his people, his family disappear in one night, never to come back. He doesn't know what to make of it, but the rumors of a stranger interested in people with high energy run rampant around of what's left of the village. Some of the villagers left are worried not only of themselves, but of him, as well. It's his fault that his _tribe_ is gone and that he's the last one of them. 'I'm alone,' he thinks, feeling a familiar tug in his chest.

"_Okomi-san, you must leave."_

"_What? Why?"_ He finds himself asking. It's not like them to ask him to leave, but when his stormy gray-blue eyes meet the villager's he sees it. _They_ are scared of him and he doesn't blame them either.

The villager's eyes are pure unadulterated horror. _"For your sake, for all of our sakes, please, leave,"_ he begs in anguish.

In the end, he leaves because there's nothing neither keeping him around nor bound to the village. His only reason to stay is gone and someone is after him because of his high energy. He has nowhere to go and the only thing he can do is wander, so he does. It is later on through mentioning and rumors that he hears that the village he use to live in is gone.

It is only the annoying childish voice in his mind that keeps his sanity. Not that he'll ever admit it to it of all things. What he doesn't realize, until later, is that the annoying voice is in fact his zanpakutou spirit.

* * *

One thing, he learns through wandering is that you never know what kind of people you'll run into. This comes in the experience of running into a chibi raven-haired gaki that tries to steal whatever he has left of his possessions. After scolding her about why she shouldn't steal what doesn't belong to her, the gaki and her groupies take to following him, much to his chagrin. He becomes much to his bemusement 'their' onii-san. After trying to get rid of them several times, he gives up and let's them follow him around as longest they don't bother him.

Her name is Rukia he learns and that's the only name he bothers to learn, because he couldn't care less what the other's names are, that includes the red-haired gaki that insists that his name is important too. He just shrugs it off, much to the annoyance of the pest.

However, the unwelcome company doesn't last very long for the gakis soon become tired of wandering aimlessly and decide to continue doing their devices, much to his relief. They never see each other again and he hopes they never do. Not because he doesn't want to, but because is better that way. He wanders town from town, district to district, encountering people who are either sane or insane. Nonetheless, he keeps going never looking back or even bothering to remember their names.

Hell, he doesn't even bother learning the names of the districts nor its numbers. All he cares about is finding the reason and purpose of many things, even though he doesn't know which._ 'That's 'cause you have none,'_ remarks the ever constant annoying voice, snickering.

All he can do is shrug, because he knows that in some way it is the truth even though he never voices it aloud. That doesn't stop him from wandering, until one day in particular he finds himself about to get maimed, killed, it doesn't matter either way, by a hollow. Before he looses consciousness the last thing he sees are a flash of white hair and the peculiar words, "I'm going to kill, Shunsui."


	2. Resemblance in Seireitei

A/N: I couldn't ask for a better relaxing time than Christmas. No stress, no homework, no University, no nothing to disrupt my mind and jumble my ideas. I'm most grateful for your review, alerts and adds to favorites. Those really meant a lot and it made my day. Thanks so much, guys.

Without further due, enjoy this latest installation! Merry Christmas to you all! ^^

* * *

Resemblance in Seireitei

He groaned and rubbed his head trying to relieve the damn headache he had. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was that he was about to get maimed by a hollow and a flash of white had gotten in the way. "Ah, you're awake, Rukongai-san," he heard an amused voice say.

Starrk sat groggily and rubbed his eyes. Crap. Everything hurt like hell. Blue eyes looked curiously at the room. "If you're wondering where you are, Rukongai-san, you're in the Fourth Division in the Seireitei," commented casually the voice.

His head snapped and he turned to look at the source of the voice. How peculiar. The man was dressed in what seemed a pink haori and a straw hat was on his lap. "S-Seireitei?" he stammered.

"Judging by your face, Rukongai-san, it seems the Seireitei was the last district you want to be in," said the brown-haired man bemusedly. A frown marred his features and brown eyes studied curiously. "Why is that Rukongai-san?"

"Starrk, my name is Okomi Starrk, Seireitei-san," he countered, furrowing his brow and studying the rather strange man equally. Was it a custom to call people from his area like that? Or was it something laced with humor? He didn't know and either way he couldn't care less. All he wanted was get out of here and be his merry way to who knows where.

"Shunsui, Kyoraku Shunsui, Starrk-san," answered the man, chuckling. Much to his surprise, he ruffled his hair.

"Are you bothering my patients, Shunsui?" asked a soft voice behind the man named Shunsui. It belonged to a black-haired woman. The brown-haired man laughed nervously.

"O-Of course not, Yachi-, err, Retsu-sempai! I was just paying a visit to the boy here, isn't that right, Starrk-kun?"

He shook his head. To be honest, he didn't know who in hell was this man or who was the woman in his presence. The woman named Retsu smiled serenely at Shunsui. "The child doesn't know who you are and confusing him is the thing you least want, so, kindly leave and return later, Kyoraku-taichou."

"But I wanted to get to know my long lost son," whined the taichou with a pout.

His stormy blue eyes widened and he looked at the brown-haired man. Son? Last thing he checked he wasn't anybody's son. He was just some random soul who woke up in the Rukongai like many others before him. "A-Ano, you're not my father," he corrected the man.

Both adults exchanged glances. The woman approached him and touched his shoulders kindly. "We know it's a bit of a shock, child, but he's certainly your father."

He shook his head once more. "I'm nobody's child. I woke up in the Rukongai like every soul before me. I dunno what you're playing at, but you're sorely mistaken that I'm _his_ child," he concluded, pointed at the man with a pink haori.

The man mocked hurt and said dramatically, "My own son denies me!"

"Enough, Kyoraku-taichou," said the woman calmly. She studied him silently and turned to look at the taichou. The brown-haired brown eyed man regained his composure and looked between them.

"Yare, yare, Retsu-sempai, I'll be waiting outside," said he, bowing and leaving the room.

It was unnerving that the woman kept studying him zealously like she was looking for something that was obviously not there. "The resemblance _is_ uncanny," she remarked, still studying him.

He shrugged. No matter what he did or said, it was probably that she would stake it as denial. It was very clear that she was adamant in proving that the rather peculiar man in pink was his father. While, yes, the resemblance was uncanny, it didn't prove that they were related in any way and the man probably knew that. He was smarter than what he pretended and it was obvious that he was playing with whatever ruse they were throwing at him.

The question was, _Why?_

* * *

Kyoraku Shunsui closed the tatami door behind him and turned to look at the occupant in it. "If you're expecting me to tell you that he's my son, you're sorely mistaken, Jyuu," he stated, sitting down calmly and serving himself some tea from the table.

The white-haired man nodded. "I was afraid you would say that. You should see him, Shunsui, he looks a lot like you when we-"

"I saw him. There's some resemblance, but that doesn't prove anything. The boy probably knows that and he isn't much older than Nanao-chan either," he interrupted, chuckling and shaking his head. He'd seen in those blue eyes intellect and if he wasn't mistaken, the boy had seen through him. Beneath whatever façade the boy had, there was the mind of a genius.

His best friend let another sigh. "If that's so, then, what are we going to tell, Genryuusai-sensei?"

"Nothing, we tell him nothing. He's probably figured it out by himself by now. However, that doesn't stop the rumors from going rampant and if we let the boy go he could be in danger. His life won't be the same ever again," he stated, looking thoughtful. It wasn't very common to see him in this manner, but he could be when he wanted to be.

Jyuushiro nodded thoughtfully. "I could take him," he offered. "His reiatsu is a very promising one and he could make a very powerful shinigami in my-"

"Yare, yare, Jyuu, who said anything about him being your division?" he argued. The boy was a diamond in the rough and he'd be an idiot to let him slip through his fingers. "He'd be waste, but if he was in _my_ division, then he'd be great!"

"You mean like you," deadpanned the white-haired taichou.

A grin appeared in his features and brown-eyes sparkled in amusement, "Who says he isn't already?"


	3. Academy

A/N: I'm alive. It took me some time to update, but I was busy with University and what not. I'm currently free and took the actual time to finally sit and write this chapter. I also caught with the most recent manga chapters, something which I'm most glad for. Thank you for the reviews, adds to favorites and alerts.

Without further due, enjoy! ^^

* * *

Oonabara Gengorou didn't know what to make of the most recent and newest addition to their special accelerated class. Okomi Starrk, the bastard son of Kyoraku Shunsui and the only one who could rival his father in how lazy he could be. If only he had his father's preference of chasing after women it would be a welcome relief, but the boy had no motivation whatsoever at anything. Oh, Starrk was a genius alright like _his_ father, but he was always sleeping through his classes as if they were nothing.

It irked him and annoyed him to no end how the brown curly-haired youth would dismiss him with mumble, a wave of his hand and go back to sleep. Getting perfect scores at the tests didn't help to lighten his mood either. How it was that someone so lazy could have passed the entrance test to the Shin'ou Academy? It wasn't only about having a high Spiritual Energy, though the boy's Spiritual Energy had more than untapped potential, it was also about passing a test that would determine what type of education level he would fall to. Therefore, it irritated him how someone like _him_ could pass that test and the other tests after that without no effort whatsoever.

The instructor tried not to show his exasperated demeanor and headed to the desk where the hell-spawn, err, the sleeping student was. He cleared his throat, "Okomi-san, it'd nice if you didn't sleep in my class for once."

The mess of curls that was on the desk raised his head looking at him uninterested and shrugged, "So?"

Snickers and amused mumbling coming from his classmates were heard. Gengorou gritted his teeth in frustration, "I will not tolerate insubordination in my class, Okomi-san."

Stormy blue eyes regarded him thoughtfully, "Does that mean I can leave?"

"For the last time, no! How many times do I have to tell you that?!" snapped the man, taking a deep breath and trying not to strangle the lethargic hellion. "By the Soutaicho, you're just like your father!"

Starrk scrunched his nose looking at him calmly, "And, how many times do I have to tell you that Kyoraku-san is not my father, Oonabara-sensei?"

"Get out, Starrk! Get out of my class and never come back!" pointed the instructor towards the tatami door.

"You're always saying that."

"Out!"

The youth let out a sigh and stood up grumbling, "Alright, alright, no need to be so noisy about it."

Some students around groaned about unfair bets and slapped some bills at some that were receiving payment of yet another antic coming from Okomi Starrk, some were outright finding this too damn funny, some were not surprised and the rest didn't give a damn about it. All in all, it was yet another day at the advanced class in the Academy, but, at least, it wasn't boring either.

"I will be having words with Kyoraku-taichou," warned the teacher while he escorted the student towards the tatami door. As soonest he was out of the classroom, Gengorou closed the door and turned to the class his face changing from any previous annoyance, "Where were we class?"

.

.

.

"I win, Juu. Pay up."

A disgruntled sigh and the sound of someone slapping something at the palm of the hand of another were heard. "He beat your record of laziness and annoyance at the Academy and he's not even your son."

His best friend beamed at him. "Exactly, I believe I, we," he signaled between the both of them, "have found an equal in my laziness!"

"The Soutaichou help us all."

Unohana Retsu raised an elegant brow at her two fellow taichou and longtime companions, Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Juushiro. It was common practice that these two would drag her to whatever scheme they had no matter how many times she said no, yet for some inane reason they managed to convince her somehow. "I hope you both realize that this is against protocol," she remarked coolly. They were currently perched at the roof of the Academy and had witnessed what had transpired.

Juushiro, despite the fact that he _should_ be resting from his most recent attack, managed to look somewhat sheepish and smiled at her charmingly, "That's why you're here to keep us, err, Shunsui in line, right, Yachiru-sempai?"

It didn't annoy her that he knew her first name, but at how he still managed to mention it so casually. Of the both of them, Juushiro was the only one who could get away with calling her by her first name, but not Shunsui. She sent him a warning look. "I trust you will stay out of trouble, won't you, _Juushiro_?"

The white-haired man looked at her trying to not let a smile appear in his face. "I-I would never dare to get into trouble, Yachiru-sempai."

Shunsui grinned at his best friend and turned to look at her. "Yare, yare, Yachi, err…" The healer glared and the brown-haired man corrected himself, "Retsu-sempai. We would never ever get into trouble, unless it's for a good cause."

Blue eyes bored into brown ones narrowly, "Oh, and pray tell what's this good cause?"

"We're currently doing it," remarked humorously the Eight Division taichou. "Our current source of amusement, err, I mean "my son," he air quoted, "is doing very well at his classes."

It was the white-haired taichou's turn to raise a brow, "You mean annoying his teacher to no end and getting kicked out from class."

Another grin appeared on Shunsui, "Yup, that boy makes me proud! He'll beat Kaien-kun and Ichimaru-kun's record in no time!"

"I understand our interests on the boy, but _stalking_ is not one of them. While, yes, it is amusing to have found an equal in your laziness, _Shunsui_," she said giving them both a cool look. "I believe we're breaking protocol. How is it that I end up in these situations with you two every time?"

"Uh, 'cause you love us with all your heart? And we're your favorites?" pouted Shunsui.

Her head tilted at Juushiro, who suddenly found his sandals very interesting, and she looked at him calmly, "Do you have anything to add, Juushiro?"

His green eyes rose to meet her blue ones and he feigned innocence, "We're both very sorry and we won't do it again?"

The older woman let out a sigh. Back when the Shin'ou Academy was being founded and the Seireitei was in its infancy, she was considered the most diabolical criminal that ever existed and it hadn't helped when Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto had ordered to guard, more like babysit, his newest two little darling students and protégés. At the time, she hadn't wanted to do anything with the pair of brats as it would ruin her reputation of being a bloodthirsty criminal, but as time went on they had grown on her.

It was a little bit ironic, but it was the truth. Not that she would ever admit it to them of all people. She still had a reputation to keep, after all. Retsu still didn't know how it was that she kept tolerating these two, but someone had to keep watch over them and the only who knew how to deal with them best was her. "What am I to do with you both? This incident better not repeat itself in the future. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes, R-Retsu-sempai," nodded vehemently the brown-haired man straightening instantly. His white-haired best friend remained silent only nodding alongside.

"Good," she smiled serenely, finding it amusing that after all this time she still could terrify them and keep them in line. "Now, shall we get some tea?"

Both men only could nod.

.

.

.

Starrk didn't know how in hell he had gotten into this mess. He had expected he'd be released so he could be on his merry way to who knows where and be left alone, but, no, rather they had placed him on the Shin'ou Academy to become a Shinigami. He'd been stripped from his necklace, his rather nice simple clothes and dressed instead into a blue _shitagi_, a white _kosode_ with blue stripes, a blue _hakama_, white socks and sandals, something that was a travesty in itself. Usually, he wouldn't care about such simple things, but these were the remaining items that linked him to his old life, things that made him into what he was. The clothes were unimportant as he could get another set, but the _necklace_… The bone-colored necklace was another matter in itself. It was given to him as a gift, it was part of him and to be stripped from it made him feel uneasy, strange and foreign.

It didn't help that that Kyoraku fellow wouldn't leave him alone either. "Can I help you with something, Kyoraku-san?"

The brown-haired taichou sat casually, under the tree he would usually be found napping at, grinning and sipped from what looked to be a drink, "Yare, yare, Starky-kun, what makes you say that? Sake?" offered the older man.

He shook his head. Someone his age ought not to be drinking things that left people acting like morons and buffoons. "The fact that you're constantly disrupting my sleep or trying to engage in conversation where I couldn't care less about it."

"Ouch, that hurts."

The dark-brown haired youth sighed. "What do you want?"

A wicked light shone in those brown eyes and the man grinned from ear to ear, "How would you like to graduate earlier?"

Blue eyes regarded him thoughtfully and a small smirk appeared on his features, "I'm listening."


End file.
